Two seated jurors for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, were dismissed on Wednesday after admitting that the $27 million settlement Floyd’s family received from the city could affect their impartiality.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill recalled the seven jurors previously selected for Chauvin’s trial before the city agreed to the settle a civil lawsuit from Floyd’s family. Two additional jurors were selected after the settlement was announced, and there are no plans to recall them.
According to a clip of the discussion between Cahill and the jurors, when asked how the settlement would affect his ability to be impartial in the case, juror No. 36 said, “It will impact it a lot.”
The juror added, “Last time I was asked about my strong opinions against Chauvin, clearly the city of Minneapolis has some strong opinions as well. And this just kind of confirms my opinions that I already had.”
When pressed again by Cahill, the juror said that the settlement would make it “hard to be impartial.”
Juror No. 20, a white man in his 30s, was also asked about the settlement and how it could affect his impartiality in the case.
“I would say, especially that dollar amount, was kind of shocking to me. That kind of sent a message that the city of Minneapolis felt that something was wrong and they wanted to make it right,” the juror said. “That sticker price obviously shocked me and kind of swayed me a little bit.”
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The jurors’ dismissal comes less than a week after the city announced the $27 million settlement. In July, Floyd’s family filed the civil rights lawsuit, alleging that Chauvin, along with three other former Minneapolis police officers, violated Floyd’s rights during his arrest last May, which sparked mass protests calling for an end to police brutality against Black Americans.
Shortly after the settlement was announced, Chauvin’s lead attorney, Eric Nelson, criticized the city and suggested that the attention the news received would make it hard for jurors to be impartial in the trial.
“You have elected officials—the governor, the mayor—making incredibly prejudicial statements about my client, this case,” Nelson told the court on Tuesday. “You have the city settling a civil lawsuit for a record amount of money. And the pretrial publicity is just so concerning.”
Newsweek reached out to Nelson for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Videos of the incident show him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes. If convicted of the most serious charges, Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison.
